Fuel and forecourt retailer Applegreen said it plans to open 20 new M&S Food stores this year, as part of a major expansion of its partnership with Marks & Spencer.
The expansion will mean that by the end of the year, Applegreen will operate 41 M&S Food stores across the island of Ireland, with plans to further expand the network to 60 outlets in the medium term.
Each new outlet will feature a range of more than 400 M&S Food products, including ready meal options for lunch and dinner, sandwiches, fresh fruit and salads, and fresh flowers. Popular favourites such as Percy Pig sweets, M&S cookies and Colin the Caterpillar cakes are also available.
All of the new M&S at Applegreen outlets will also offer Click & Collect for M&S clothing and selected home product ranges.
The first of the new M&S Food at Applegreen outlets opened in Ennis earlier this month at its Limerick Road location.
Applegreen recently unveiled plans to invest €1 billion over the next five years to expand its business in Ireland, the UK and the US.
It has almost 200 locations in Ireland, while in the UK, its Welcome Break business operates 60 sites, including 36 motorway service areas, and 31 hotels.
It is also planning a major €85m investment to further expand its EV charging networks.
“Our partnership with M&S has been working really well over the past two years, and we’re delighted to be bringing M&S Food at Applegreen to 20 additional locations this year,” said Mark Ryan, Head of M&S Operations at Applegreen.
He said the expansion of the M&S Food partnership is one of the key elements of Applegreen’s growth plans in the Irish market, alongside further investment in its Braeburn Coffee brand, and significant investment in new and upgraded sites.
“This expansion with Applegreen is terrific news for M&S customers across Ireland,” said Eddie Murphy, Country Director for M&S in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
“We’re bringing our trusted quality and delicious M&S Food range to even more locations, offering great value and convenience as part of this growing partnership with Applegreen. We’re particularly excited to be extending our Click & Collect service to these new stores, making it even easier for customers to access our clothing and home ranges,” he added.
